LoS - Tickle Fight
by GhedahrianVampress
Summary: It all starts with a tickle fight ... Who knew that such silliness would give Gabriel and Marie the push they needed to reveal their feelings to one another.


\- The year of our Lord 1040 -

Humming to herself, Marie couldn't resist the urge to skip as she went on her way, following the dirt path that led to the brotherhood monastery, a basket clutched firmly in her hand. Over the years she had often made the short journey from her family home to the monastery. You would think that, raised in the comforts that a wealthy family provided, sixteen-year-old Marie Renard would be content to remain in such comforts, entertaining herself with ladylike pastimes such as embroidery and sewing, but she was not.

She was very different from most other girls her age and status. Rather than reveling in the luxuries her family provided, she chose to share with those who had less, and most of the time that just so happened to be the monks. However, it was not for the sake of helping alone that she came, but also her long-time fascination with the brotherhood.

The Brotherhood of Light was an order of holy knights, founded centuries ago, tasked with defending mankind from the creatures of darkness that roamed the earth. She thought it a noble cause, one that she could trust with her life, and so, because she was a woman and was unable to become a warrior herself, she instead devoted her time and efforts to help them in any way she could, whether that be washing dishes, tending to the horses or even providing them with baked goods.

She had just reached the monastery porch when an old man with long grey hair and beard stepped out, carrying some sort of shepherd's staff. It was none other than Cardinal Volpe. Marie knew him well. He was one of the leaders of the Brotherhood and held a lot of power and influence within the holy order.

"Good morning, Cardinal Volpe," she greeted him.

"Ah, Marie, I see you have come with treats to share," Cardinal Volpe stated, his eyes on the basket in her hand. "Such a good girl, always thinking of others before yourself."

Marie smiled. "Thank you, sir. I made these for the squires, hoping that the extra bit of nourishment might lend them some strength as they train to become knights."

"Well, I certainly hope they have the desired effect," Volpe agreed. "You should find them out in the training grounds."

With a nod of her head, she left the cardinal. Circling around the monastery, she found herself in the heart of the brotherhood. There were men everywhere, some dueling, others polishing armor and sharpening swords, and then some working in the stables. There was never a dull moment for these warriors it seemed, as there were always chores to be done and opponents to be fought.

Marie remembered how in awe she had been when she first stepped foot on the grounds, yet at the same time she had also been a bit frightened. You had to keep your wits about you at all times, watching out for swords and even the occasional flying boomerang. It was a dangerous place to be sure, and most women would have run for their lives, but Marie wasn't afraid. In fact, she felt right at home.

Making her way safely across the field to the training area, she found the squires practicing their techniques, just as the cardinal had said. Content to simply watch them from the sidelines for the time being, she did not make herself known. Though, it didn't take long for one of them to spot her, as well as her basket.

"Marie brought us food!" one of them announced.

Just like that, training was forgotten and weapons were tossed aside as the squires, ranging from the age of fourteen to eighteen, flocked towards her, surrounding her as they tried to get a peek inside the basket.

"What did you bring us, Marie?" they all asked at once.

Marie couldn't help but giggle as she glanced about at the happy, though sweaty, faces of the young men. Her mother always said that a way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and from what she could see, it would appear that her mother was correct.

"You are in luck, gentlemen. I made an extra-large batch of biscuits, so you can have two each."

Cheers erupted as hands shot out grabbing for the biscuits. She had to remind the boys a few times to only take two each but aside from that, there was no trouble.

"You are a godsend, Marie," remarked one of the squires, stuffing one of the biscuits into his mouth whole. "God answered my stomach's cry for food and sent you."

Marie rolled her eyes at the boy's terrible eating manners but chose to let it slide, seeing as he had given her a nice enough compliment. "Well, I'm glad you like them either way."

When everyone had their assigned amount of biscuits, she noticed that there were still two left. One of the squires was missing and she knew exactly who it was.

"Does anyone know where Gabriel is?"

"He was the first to finish," one of the squires replied. "I saw him take off into the forest like he usually does after training."

Leaving them to enjoy their biscuits, Marie headed into the forest in pursuit of Gabriel. It wasn't an easy task, with all the branches that threatened to snag her dress and the rocks that threatened to trip her, but she managed to make it to the big tree that she knew to be Gabriel's favorite.

He appeared to be off in his own little world when she got there, as he sat leaned against the trunk, carving something out of a small block of wood with his dagger. Not wanting to startle him, she softly cleared her throat.

"Were you purposefully trying to hide from me, Gabriel?"

His head snapped up at the sound. The corners of his mouth twitched upward into a tiny smile at the sight of her.

"Forgive me, Marie. I did not know you were coming today," he explained, putting away the dagger. "If I had, I would have made an effort to train a bit longer."

She wasted no time in sitting down beside him. "I shall forgive you, but only because you are so sweet," she teased. "Anyway, I brought your share of the biscuits. I did not want you to miss out."

Reaching into her basket, she grabbed the remaining two biscuits and handed them to him, which he gladly took.

"Thank you," he said, breaking one in half and taking a bite.

Silence washed over the two of them as Marie sat and watched him eat. Compared to the other hungry beasts back at the training ground, Gabriel had much better manners. He didn't chew with his mouth open, or talk with a mouth full of food. He easily could have passed for a civilized nobleman. She often found herself forgetting his humble origin.

Gabriel was an orphan, left on the monastery doorstep as a newborn baby with no clue as to who he was or who his parents were. Some rumors claimed he was an illegitimate child of the Cronqvists, a family of wealthy nobles who owned a lot of land in the region. Marie despised such rumors because they often made Gabriel feel that he was unworthy of being her friend, and she made it her job to assure him otherwise whenever that happened.

Out of all the brotherhood squires, Gabriel was the one she knew best. He was her best friend and had been since the two were children. He was two years older than her, but that had never stopped their friendship from blossoming. However, as of late, Marie had started to see Gabriel in a different light. Not as a friend, but as a man. A man that she fancied.

He was handsome to be sure, and kind and gentle, especially with her. It always astounded her how he could be so gentle yet so strong at the same time. Many were afraid of him, as he was often prone to dark moods, but she had never found any reason to fear him for it. She had always managed to calm him when he was angry and cheer him up when he was upset. It made no sense to her.

She broke from her reverie as she noticed Gabriel finish eating. "How were they?" she asked, looking at him expectantly.

"They were the best I have ever eaten," he admitted. "Far better than anything the brotherhood's cook could ever produce."

Marie couldn't help but blush at his compliment, a grin tugging at her lips. "You should not speak so poorly of the cook," she chastised him, playfully slapping him across the shoulder. "She does her best, and I can not imagine it being easy to cook for so many men, especially when said men eat like wild beasts."

He chuckled lightly, "Does that make me a wild beast as well?"

She shook her head. "No, you are the exception. Though, I must admit that your hair does look rather beastly."

As to further empathize her point, she reached up to run her hands through his dark and shaggy hair, messing it up even more in the process. She was about to remove her hands when she felt a pair of strong arms on her waist. Letting out a startled yelp, she felt herself being pulled down to the forest floor. Before she could even comprehend what was happening, Gabriel had climbed on top of her and was tickling her.

"Gabriel, what are you doing?" she managed to get out between all the squirming and giggling she was doing.

Gabriel smirked at her, "Getting back at you for insulting my hair."

The two rolled around tickling each other for a while. Then, they suddenly came to a halt, finally realizing the awkward and inappropriate position they were in. Marie turned bright red as she found herself laying on top of Gabriel, her legs wrapped around his. Her hair was just as messy as his, their clothes were askew, and they were both out of breath from the tickle fight. If anyone were to see them, they would have surely assumed they were doing something … er, different …

"I-I suppose we should head back," Marie stuttered.

"Y-Yes, we should…"

For some reason, Marie couldn't bring herself to get up, and providing she was not mistaken, she got the impression that he didn't exactly want to get up either. She wasn't sure what had come over her at that moment, but before she could even attempt to stop herself, she leaned down and stole his lips with her own.

Gabriel was stiff at first, and at that moment, Marie thought for sure that she had made a mistake. Perhaps she had thought wrong. Perhaps he saw her only as a friend. Had she ruined that very friendship? The doubts didn't stop filling her head until she felt Gabriel's hands wrap around her, pulling her even closer as he not only returned the kiss but deepened it as well. Her heart soared as all of the doubts vanished in an instant.

"Well, it's about time you two got together," a voice interrupted them.

Breaking apart, they glanced up to find two of the young squires standing before them, each with a ridiculous little smirk on their faces. Feeling embarrassed and shy all of a sudden, she hastily buried her face into Gabriel's chest to hide, savoring the softness of his tunic at the same time. Sadly, this only made the two squires laugh.

"Come on, lovebirds," one of the squires said, motioning for them to follow them. "Cardinal Volpe is looking for you."

Gabriel nodded his head and got to his feet, never once letting go of Marie. "You two go on ahead. We'll follow you in a moment."

The two squires looked at each other knowingly. "If you're not seen within the hour, we'll tell the cardinal to send his best men to break the two of you apart." Then they left.

Gabriel rolled his eyes in their direction before returning his focus to Marie. "They are gone. You can stop hiding now."

Pulling away from him slightly, she took a moment to straighten out her appearance, though it was hard to tell if her hair was still messy without a brush or mirror. "Do I look alright?" she asked. A part of her was surprised that she let herself be so careless, yet at the same time, she wasn't surprised in the slightest. It was Gabriel that had that effect on her. He made her forget about everything when they were together. It was just the two of them.

"You look beautiful as always," he said with a smile.

Marie couldn't help but return the smile with one of her own. Many times she had heard people remark on how Gabriel never smiled, but she didn't understand that either. He often smiled, at least around her. Perhaps it was only for her that she smiled. While she wasn't entirely sure if that was the case, she liked the idea of it.

They fell back into another awkward silence after that, both unsure of what to say to the other. Marie still wasn't entirely confident about how Gabriel felt about her. A part of her knew deep down that he felt the same as her, yet she still felt the need to hear it from him.

"So … did you enjoy the kiss?"

She regretted asking that the moment the words left her lips. It seemed like such a dumb question to ask, and yet she couldn't figure out how else to go about it. She was still mentally chastising herself when she heard Gabriel let out a small chuckle, catching her by surprise.

"More than you know," he admitted. "I have been trying to work up the courage to kiss you, or at least announce my feelings to you, for months now."

She was momentarily dumbstruck, but it didn't last long before she joined in the laughter. "Well, that is funny, because I have been hoping you would for months."

Without even knowing what they were doing, they found their way back into each other's arms, embracing while they attempted to get their laughter under control. Once they had, they moved to claim each other's lips again in a brief kiss. Marie found it a bit more difficult when they were standing. Gabriel was so tall that she had to stand on her tip-toes just to reach his lips, but she made it work.

"We should probably get going now before the two louts come after us again," he claimed as they broke apart for the second time, this time of their own doing.

"Should I tell my father that you intend to court me? The news that we were caught in the forest together is bound to spread if those two louts have anything to do with it."

He gulped, appearing to be a bit nervous about that idea. "I would love to. That is if he will allow a man like me to court his daughter."

"You are a far better man than you give yourself credit for, Gabriel," she rolled her eyes at him, reaching up and bopping him playfully on the nose. "Besides, all he wants as any decent father should is for me to be happy, and he knows better than almost anyone that I am happiest when I am with you."

A wide grin broke out across his face. "As am I with you."

With that, the two of them headed back towards the monastery hand in hand, feeling optimistic about a future together.


End file.
